Year of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Name
Anthropology
Other Degree Name/Area of Focus
Archaeology
Department or School/College
Department of Anthropology
Committee Chair
Anna Prentiss
Committee Co-chair
Elizabeth Hubble
Commitee Members
Douglas MacDonald, Kelly Dixon, Nicole Manning
Keywords
Anglo-Saxon, Chatelaine, Diagnostic Artifact, Kingdom, Toilet Set, Toilet Technology
Abstract
The use of diagnostic artifacts to determine gender when analysis of skeletal remains is uncertain is a long-standing practice within archaeology. Material culture is noted, including weapons and personal items used exclusively by a specific gender within a culture, allowing for possible gender determination during excavation or review. However, issues arise when diagnostic artifacts are found not to be used solely by one gender within these cultures. Biases on the part of researchers, unintentional though they may be, are a determining factor. This, in turn, affects the public's views on history. Examples of this can be seen in our current society and include such stereotypes as “there were no women warriors” or “homosexuality is a recent social trend".
The purpose of this study is to move beyond the reexamination of weapons as gender markers and examine the chatelaine as a problematic marker of gender attribution by reassessing its overall usage within Anglo-Saxon culture. Archeologists have long used the chatelaine as a diagnostic artifact for assigning gender. Chatelaines were used to suspend multiple items for purposes such as grooming, tools, or keys, and were widely used from the Roman occupation of England, during which they were used by all genders, to the ninth century, when they were primarily used by women. As such, this research asserts 1) that a single artifact should not be solely relied upon to assign a gender identity to a burial and 2) that using chatelaines as gender markers must be done with reservation and/or with additional, independent lines of evidence to avoid erroneous conclusions.
This dissertation proposes the Temporal Regional model to allow a macro- and micro-examination of the chatelaine and its presence within Anglo-Saxon culture. As its name implies, this model is the synthesis of prior archaeological theories into one model to examine artifacts in both space and time in terms of their usage and the associations of gender. The implication of this model is far-reaching in research, as prior theories are applicable only in either space or over time and focus on only one aspect of culture.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Dane Alexander, "“What’s Gender Got To Do With It?” The Chatelaine, Artifact Analysis, and the Presumption of Gender" (2026). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12664.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12664
Burial data
© Copyright 2026 Dane Alexander Williams